Seismic performance comparison between reinforced concrete frame structures with and without energy dissipating cladding panel system: Shaking table test and numerical simulation

Abstract

An energy dissipating cladding panel system (EDCPS) for reinforced concrete (RC) structures, in which the U-shaped steel dampers (USDs) are introduced to connect the main structure and the panel, is proposed, aiming to control and eliminate the damage to the main structure and cladding panels, respectively. To validate the dual damage control effects, 1/2-scale shaking table tests were conducted on RC frames with and without EDCPS. The test results indicated that a satisfactory control effect was realized for the RC frame with EDCPS. The maximum roof displacement and inter-story drift ratio of the RC frame with EDCPS were approximately 20% and 60% lower than those of the bare RC frame under the design basis earthquake (DBE) and maximum considered earthquake (MCE), respectively, where the influence of loading histories was not eliminated. No damage was observed on the cladding panels, which could successfully convert inter-story deformations into shear deformations of the USDs, thus realizing the damage control. Furthermore, a multi-scale simulation method was introduced and validated against the test results with a good accuracy, emphasizing the consideration of loading histories. For the RC frame with EDCPS, the relative differences in the predicted critical responses with and without consideration of loading histories were less than 2.3%. Moreover, for the RC frame without EDCPS, the corresponding relative differences reached 4.0% and 26.8% under the DBE and MCE, respectively. The control effect of the maximum inter-story drift ratio under the MCE ignoring and considering loading histories were 37.8% and 60%, respectively. This research provides valuable experimental data and identifies an effective numerical simulation method for investigating RC structures with EDCPS.